CRYSTAL SHELTER

CRYSTAL SHELTER
Credits: Lydia Kallipoliti & Alexandros Tsamis

Crystal Shelter is an urban environment made out of various pieces of recycled glass, photovoltaic cells and electrochromic glass parts. The reused glass pieces are positioned on a new armature among solar-powered cells and electrically charged electrochromic materials according to the specific formal and material properties – transparency and reflection – of each piece. The new composite enclosure becomes a mosaic that negotiates the relationship between exterior and interior space in the city. The transparency of the exterior envelope topically changes according to the input of solar energy and the location of the user. The recycled glass pieces, the photovoltaic cells – which convert solar power to electrical current – and the electrochromic materials – which change from clear to translucent according electrical charge – synthesize a thick composite exterior envelope which locally changes thus revealing to the user different fragmented views of urban space. Crystal Shelter necessitates an enhanced degree of tactile and optical engagement from the user, who is urged to discover new ways of spatial occupation and senses of viewing through multiple mosaic layers of glass. The variable, non-homogenous material allocation in the envelope emerges from precise rules and constraints that relate to a number of parameters including solar power input, possibilities for programmatic occupation, structure and vision.
 

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.